Five Friends - A Marauder Story - Year Three
by Emilily2
Summary: *updated chapter 4 13/6*Sirius, James, Remus, Lily and Peter are back for their thrid year, which will have more fights and more pranks than ever before, as well as love and laughter, and dark happenings
1. The Holidays

Five Friends – A Marauder Story – Year 3

Chapter 1: The Summer

Disclaimer: none of the recognisable characters belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling, and I don't want to make any money off this.

Authors Note:  this is the first chapter of year 3, in which things will start to 'get interesting'. Enjoy!

                "Luke got Head Boy," Sirius announced at breakfast. 

"Oh, lord, not again," Lily muttered. Had they not suffered enough with David? She had been staying at Sirius'

house for a week now, and had another week before they were to go back to school. 

"Nice to see the Potters are keeping it in the family," Cerys remarked. "Maybe your James will be Head Boy too." They laughed. "Archie was Head Boy while he was there, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Sirius' father, Arcturus, answered shortly. Lily had discovered that although James and Sirius' fathers had been in the same year and house at Hogwarts, they had not got on. At all. Needless to say, Arcturus wasn't exactly ecstatic about Orion's friendship with Luke, and he was even less pleased at the fact that Sirius and James were almost like brothers. She didn't like to think what the atmosphere must have been like in the house when Esme had been dating David. 

"I hope James isn't Head Boy, that would spoil everything," Lily now said fervently, earning herself a very disapproving look from Cerys, who it turned out liked her about as much as Esme did, which meant not at all. The feeling was mutual. 

                During the silence that followed Lily's last remark, the entire family, including Steve and Esme, could hear the sound of the front door being shut very, very quietly. In the continued silence, Lily shared an apprehensive glance with Sirius. 

                "OR ION!" Cerys yelled suddenly. Something smashed in the hall, as Orion jumped in shock. He came, rather reluctantly, into the room, knowing he was in trouble.  He had not come home the night before, and had neglected to tell his parents where he was, or where he was staying. 

"Where have you been all night? We've been so worried. You are in so much trouble, young man."

"Err…I was celebrating at Luke's house," Orion muttered. 

"DO YOU THINK I'M A COMPLETE IDIOT?"  his mother roared. "I know perfectly well that Luke's in Luxembourg! Neither is Lydia in the country, so don't tell me that either. Were you with Nick Douglas again?" Cerys did not like Nick Douglas, Orion's wild friend, and had banned Orion from seeing him. 

"I…err…I-," Orion stuttered.

"Mum, I think you should know that Sirius and Lily broke your _antique, 9th century_ Merlin clock yesterday," Esme interrupted smoothly, in the hope of saving her favourite brother. 

                It worked. "They _what_?" The Merlin Clock was a priceless family heirloom, and Sirius and Lily had bribed Esme with all their money not to say anything before they could get it fixed. "Did you?" Cerys asked Sirius in a low, dangerous voice. Orion, Esme, Steve and even Arcturus hurriedly backed out of the room. 

"Well…yes, we did," Sirius said bravely. "But-,"

He was cut off before he could explain that they were going to get it fixed. "Do you know how much one of those is worth? Do you know how much it means to me? Do you ever stop to think, Sirius? Or you, Lily?  You've caused nothing but trouble this whole summer, both of you…"

***************

                When Cerys had finally stopped berating them, and had given them their punishments, Sirius and Lily raced outside, intent on finding Esme. Instead, they found both Orion and Steve waiting for them, to offer consolation. 

"I can believe she did that!" Sirius exploded. "Where is she, 'Rion?"

"You must have known she would, Siri. She doesn't exactly like you, does she?" Orion said reasonably. 

"That's why we bribed her. All our savings, almost 25 Galleons!" Lily said bitterly. "I want it back!"

"What!" Orion exclaimed. "And she still grassed on you? I'll help you get it back, Lils. Come on, we'll get it now, I think she went out."

"Thanks," Lily and Sirius both grinned at him. The four made their way up to the bedroom Lily was sharing with Esme, and pushed open the door, not expecting her to be there. 

                Esme was sat on the bed, counting her money. She looked up as they came in. "I thought I'd be seeing you," she said calmly. 

"Give them back their money, Esmerelda," Orion said stiffly. 

"I did what I did for you, 'Rion," she said. 

"That just makes it worse. You snitched on your brother when you'd promised not to. I don't think I want to know you any more," Orion said coldly. 

"Bur 'Rion,"

"Don't but me, Esme, I don't want to talk to you."

"Give me one good reason why I should give them back their money," Esme jeered. 

"Cos we'll take it if you don't, you bitch," Lily said. Esme smiled smugly at her, a smile of superior knowledge, and Lily felt suddenly insecure. She looked around her, to check that nothing was wrong, and her bed was wrong. It looked oddly empty. What was missing? "Where's Kit Kat?" Lily demanded suddenly. "Where's my teddy?" Esme just smiled that smile again. "What have you done with him?"

"Well…" Esme said, achingly slow, "I did see a green teddy and a white teddy over in next door's yard."

"You fucking cow," Sirius cried, jumping at his sister with arms raised. Lily was already running down the stairs, followed by Orion. Next door had a rather large, vicious dog, which had a penchant for chewing things up. 

                Lily had raced across the garden and was trying to scramble across the fence when Orion caught up with her.  He grabbed her arms to stop her. "Wait a sec," he said, and then lifted her right over the fence. Lily sat astride the top, and gave Orion a hand up, then jumped down. She raced across the garden, and the dog, hearing the intruder, raced towards her. Lily reached the two bears mere seconds before the dog did, and stood with them over her head, while the dog growled and backed her into a corner. "Orion, help!" she yelled. Orion dropped from the fence and whistled, making the dog go bounding over to him. Lily ran to the fence and threw the bears over, before climbing over herself. Orion joined her, and they went to find the others.

                Sirius, meanwhile, was fighting with Esme. It had been years since they had fought physically, because Esme had always been bigger and able to hold him off, but Sirius had grown this summer, and suddenly it was Esme who was desperate to defend herself. As Orion and Lily burst in, Esme was cowering back against the wall, one cheek already bruised, seeking in vain to defend herself from her younger brother. 

"Sirius, stop!" Orion commanded, but Sirius paid no attention. Lily whistled loudly, and when Sirius looked around, she put both arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides. "It's ok, you can stop now, we got them back," Lily said soothingly. Sirius stopped struggling, but glared at Esme. 

"I just want you to know, Esme, that what you've done today is unforgivable," Orion stated solemnly. "As of today, I have no sister."

"I have no sister," Sirius growled. 

From the corner where he had wisely taken refuge during the fight, Steve too piped up. "I have no sister."

"You took his side over mine, Orion? I wont forget that, either of you," Esme said, standing with her lip bleeding. Almost regally, she swept past them, out of her own room.  

"I think you'd better sleep somewhere else tonight, Lils," Orion said, looking slightly shell-shocked. 

********************

                It was a week later, and the Black family, plus Lily and Luke Potter, had just returned from Diagon Alley. The atmosphere in the house over the past week had been icy, but Lily and Sirius had managed to enjoy themselves by escaping with picnics to the parks in London, or even once to the seaside, sometimes with Orion and Steve. 

                Steve had moved into Orion's room, and Lily was sleeping in Steve's bed in Sirius' room. It was not that Lily would have minded sleeping in Orion's room, for she thought of both him and Steve as brothers, but she knew Luke would be staying, and she _did_ mind staying in a room with him. Cerys had been less than pleased with the arrangements, but faced with implacable silence from all her four children, she had had no choice but to let it lie. 

                Lily, Sirius and Steve were playing Exploding Snap when Cerys called for Sirius. He went downstairs into the living room, and was surprised to see both his parents sitting on the couch, looking very serious. 

"Sit down," his mother said. "We want to have a talk with you about school." Sirius sat down warily, wondering what his parents could have to say.

 "To be quite frank, Sirius, your behaviour worries us," his father began. "We've had more owls about you than all the others. A little bit of mischief is one thing, we expect that, but the trouble you seem to get into is unacceptable."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Sirius interrupted. 

"Well, you were nearly expelled last year, you seem to be constantly fighting with Severus Snape, although both your mother and I expressly asked you not to. And as for your work…" Arcturus let his sentence drift; sure Sirius knew exactly what he meant.

"I wasn't nearly expelled!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly. "_They_ attacked _me_! And if I fight with Snape it's because I have good reason. As for my work, what problem could you possibly find with exam results? I tied for first place!" 

"But you don't uphold the family, Sirius! Where's your dedication to Astronomy and Divination? You're not even taking that next year!" his mother said, her voice rising. 

                Outside the door, Lily heard every word that had been said. She had come down to get a drink, and had not been able to help over hearing. But at this last comment, she felt her temper kick in, and was unable to stop herself pushing the door open. 

                The faces of the three people on the other side registered complete shock as Lily walked in, her green eyes blazing. "Excuse me," she said coldly, "but I couldn't help over hearing what you just said."

"And?" Cerys didn't like Lily, and she was even more annoyed that the girl was now intruding on family matters. 

"I think what you just said to Sirius is terrible. You just want him to become an exact carbon copy of yourselves, and you're annoyed that he's showing a personality of his own!"

"Excuse me?" Cerys asked, disbelief etched on her face.

"You heard," Lily said shortly. "You should think about it."

Cerys felt a red-hot flare of anger explode inside her. "And what right do you have to speak to me like that? You intrude on a private family meeting, and then have to cheek to talk to me like that? I've had-,"

"I'm saying it 'cos I'm Sirius' friend," Lily loudly over rode her. "I've been here too weeks and I've seen you treat Sirius terribly. You take Esme's part over his, even when she's behaved abominably. You obviously prefer Orion and Steve to him, and I cant count how many times you've got at him for not being good at Astronomy."

Feeling strengthened by Lily's support, Sirius began to defend himself. "I hate it, I really do! It's been that way always! You just have to face it that I'm no good at Astronomy. I can't make myself be good; God knows I've tried. But I'm not. And don't think I haven't heard you insult the Potters when you think I'm not around. James is not his dad, and I'm most definitely not YOU!" Sirius finally exploded. 

                The room went quiet. Finally Cerys said, "I think you should both go now." Sirius looked her straight in the eye, and knew, in that moment, that there would never be any real understanding between himself and his parents. They would never understand him, never approve of him, and, Sirius thought morosely, would now probably never try. He stopped in the hall, and said despairingly, "Oh Lils, thank you so much."

"It just made me so mad, Siri. I had to, it wasn't like I had a choice." But Sirius was hugging her tightly, desperately needing comfort, and Lily stopped talking and hugged him back. "Come on," she said eventually, "Steve'll be wondering where the hell we've got to."

*****************

                James' fears about his holidays had come to pass. Only two nights after he had returned from Hogwarts, he had been told that the family was going on holiday the next day. The only silver lining was that this time, David was not going. His job as a librarian for Flourish and Blotts would not allow it. This time, the Potters were not going to Poland. Nor were they going to an exotic, sunny paradise. They were going to Luxembourg.                               'Luxembourg!' James had thought with disgust.  'Why can't my father want to improve relations with somewhere like Barbados?' Things had only got worse, as the weather had been horrible, wet and cold for two weeks without cessation, and this had caused James to get on the wrong side of the head waiter on only their third day. 

"Does it ever stop raining here? I hate it," James had asked his father at the breakfast table. As James' father was a top Ministry official, the head waiter, who over heard James' comment, was serving him. 

"People who live in Britain should not criticise weather in Luxembourg," the man had snapped, before favouring James with something that looked uncannily like a Slytherin death-glare. Luke had burst into hysterics, and this had not improved relations between the two brothers. 

                Although James had made some friends with the other children at the hotel, none stayed very long, and for a boy who could go through a day or more only talking to his four best friends, it was no substitute for having them there with him. When he had received his first joint letter from Sirius and Lily, he had been depressed for days. 

                He was back in England now, and furious that Luke had been allowed to go to Diagon Alley to meet Orion while he had not been allowed to go to see his friends. He had stayed in his room all day, something utterly unlike him, and was planning a prank on Snape when his Gran called up the stairs, "James, I've got a surprise for you!"

                With reluctance, James went downstairs into the kitchen. What he saw sent him flying across the room, straight into-

"Remus!" James yelled, catching the other boy up into a bear hug. 

"Hey, Jamie!" Remus said, trying to fend off his friend. "Get away from me, I don't like you like that." James stepped back hurriedly, and his Gran laughed. 

"I made some cookies for you two," she said, still grinning. "Take them out and leave me alone!"  The boys grabbed up the huge box of biscuits and ran outside. 

*******************

                The Muggle part of Kings Cross Station was startled to hear a series of loud yells and shouts at only 10.30 the next morning. Several customers were even more shocked to be knocked out of the way as the people responsible for the noise rushed towards each other. 

"James! Remus!" one set of people yelled.

"Sirius! Lily!" shouted the other. 

"We've missed you!" they all chorused, before bursting into laughter. They had missed each other so very much. As a much smaller, chubbier boy joined the group, who laughed even more, the previously indignant Muggles couldn't help but smile at the happiness of the group. 

"Have you finished calling attention to yourselves now?" Angela Lupin asked as she finally reached them. "We've still got to get onto the platform, which is going to be virtually impossible with all these Muggles watching us." Rather guiltily, the five looked around at all the curious faces that were indeed watching them. "Now," Angela said briskly, "I would suggest that you all go and retrieve your trolleys from wherever you left them."

"Oops," Sirius laughed, as he and Lily ran off. They discovered that their trolleys had already been taken onto the platform, but Remus, James and Peter had to find theirs and slowly push them to the entrance. 

                Their usual compartment had already been taken, by some sixth years they could hardly kick out, so James, Remus and Peter had to look in every single compartment in search of their missing friends. They accidentally walked in on a pair Ravenclaw seventh years, who looked very busy and not at all pleased to see them. "I'm glad Sirius wasn't here to see that," James said as they hurriedly left that carriage behind. "He'd never have left without getting us into trouble." 

                They were still pulling their trunks along, looking for the others, when the train began to move. "That's it," Remus snapped. "I'm staying in the next empty compartment. They can bloody well find us." He pushed open the door of the next compartment, and was confronted with a group of fourth year Slytherins, including Lucius Malfoy, the most evil boy in the school. 

"Nope, they're not in there," Remus said, attempting to back out quickly. 

"Scared, Lupin," Malfoy mocked. Crabbe and Goyle, his thick-as-ten-broomsticks cronies, chuckled oafishly. 

                Reluctantly, Remus turned around. He did not want a fight, but his pride would not let him walk away. "Of what?" he asked scornfully. "I don't see any fearsome monsters, or even any competent wizards." From behind, here could hear James laughing. 

"So you're not scared of me, Lupin?" Malfoy asked in a low voice. 

"Not in the slightest." 

"And you're not scared of my monsters?" Malfoy grinned, indicating not only Crabbe and Goyle, but also the two other Slytherin fourth years. 

"Is there a reason why is should be?  I seem to remember in the only fight we've ever had, us Gryffindors came off best."

 Malfoy sucked in a breath, for that was not a favourite memory of his. "But we're all three years older now. And you're outnumbered. Where's the idiot and the Mudblood?" James stepped right up to Remus at this, standing so close their shoulders were touching. Peter had already gone rocketing down the corridor in search of Lily and Sirius. 

"You know what, Malfoy? I reckon the only reason you don't like us is because you're jealous," Remus countered coolly. "We're better wizards, we're better looking, we have real friends…"

                The fight was suddenly started as Malfoy stepped forward rapidly and punched Remus. Things were looking bad for Remus and James, and within minutes, they were getting the worst of the fight. Then, with a loud crash and an overly dramatic battle cry, Sirius and Lily burst in, taking the Slytherins completely by surprise. 

                They fight was now more even, and very noisy. People from nearby carriages gathered to watch, making loud bets on the outcome, but disappeared just as quickly as the Head Boy strode in. 

                "STOP!" Luke yelled. The combatants looked around, and seeing Luke, let go of each other. "I don't know what you thin you're doing, or why you're fighting, but it will stop now," he said sternly. "I'll let it go this time, but one more peep out of any of you on this journey and you will be severely punished. Now James, all of you, get out." The Gryffindors left, followed by Luke, but they al heard the soft comment Malfoy made. "Favouritism," he said clearly.

                Luke spun back around. "That's 10 points from Slytherin, Malfoy, and if you knew anything about my family, you'd know that I'd be more likely to show you favouritism than my brother," he said, before slamming the door. 

"Are you complete idiots?" he asked his little brother and his friends as they walked down the train. "Fighting before schools even started! I mean it, James, anything more like that and you'll be in trouble." He shoved them into an empty compartment, before saying, "Remus, I'd get that eye seen too," and leaving.

                "David, David, David," James taunted, knowing Luke could still hear him, but to his disappointment, his brother didn't retaliate. James looked at Remus' eye dubiously, knowing it would be completely healed by the next day, before turning to the really important matter: Sirius and Lily.

"So where were you two?" he demanded.

"Behind you all the time," Lily grinned.

That's it folks: the first chapter of year three. Please, leave a review and let me know how you feel. It'll make my day!


	2. Early Celebrations

Chapter 2: Early Celebrations

Authors Note: I'm really, really sorry for this taking such a long time to write and post, but I've been having a really hard time lately in my private life, and it's caused a major case of writers block, which I am pleased to announce is over. Happily, new chapters will be published much more regularly from now on. 

Dedication: 

1: to a boy at school, who hopefully will never read this, for inspiration for a truly awful name

2: for the real Eleanor, who I love very much, and might just someday find this here

                There were no lessons the next day, because it was a Saturday. The new third years decided to take this as a cause for celebration, and went into Hogsmeade for the day. "Are you sure we should be doing this?" Peter asked tremulously. "It being the first day back and all?"

"Nonsense, Pete," James said firmly. 

"We're technically allowed to go to Hogsmeade this year," Sirius added. 

"Yeah, but _technically_ only on set weekends, Siri," Remus said, grinning. 

"Don't hear you complaining, oh mighty Remus," Lily joked.

"I'm not," Remus replied shortly.

                So with no further discussion, they made their way into Hogsmeade, and straight to Zonko's Trick Shop, which, oddly enough, they had never been in before. Their previous trips had consisted of Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks. 

                Zonko's was a prankster's heaven. Their eyes lit up as they entered, and they passed the best part of two hours there, as well as most of their money. Zonko's was a huge shop, split into tiny, narrow aisles with shelves that reached up to the ceiling. For such a large shop, it was remarkably un-dusty, and they attributed this to the fact that as it was such a brilliant shop, it must be constantly busy (even though they were the only ones in it). There was a constant shimmer in the air, as customers, (usually Sirius or James), demanded to see a demonstration of a product. 

                They pooled their money, set aside enough for a few drinks at the Three Broomsticks, and started buying. They bought several packets of Filibuster Fireworks, which both James and Sirius had been banned from since they were small, a packet of Dungbombs, ("We don't want to use to many of them," Lily advised cautiously), and several other things, including a pellet that, when it came into contact with a hat, made it shrink, then return with a pop. As the others were piling their purchases on the counter, Sirius came running towards them. 

"Oh my god! Look at this!" he yelled. He came to a sudden stop as he banged into the counter and stared up at the shop wizard. "Does it really do what it says?"

"Of course it does!" the man spluttered indignantly. He was a tall, thin wizard with bright purple eyes and hair, and a slightly mad-professorish look to him. However, his eyes twinkled with mischief, and it was not hard to imagine him as a naughty, prank playing thirteen-year old. "All my products work, it is a guarantee."

 "Can we see a demo then?" Sirius demanded. "We'll pay for that as well."

"Of course," the wizard said amiably. "Who will it be?"

"Lily," Sirius said promptly. 

"Err…I don't think so… is that a good idea?" the wizard stuttered. 

"I'll do it," Lily said, unable to resist the challenge, as Sirius had guessed. 

"Ok," the man said sceptically. He bent over the counter and poured a few drops of a clear, sparkling liquid onto Lily. 

                The boys watched in amazement as the drops shimmered and spread out, covering Lily's robes completely. Within seconds, the robes had disappeared, leaving Lily in only a vest and shorts, for it was a warm autumn's day. 

"You bastard!" Lily swore at Sirius, whacking him around the head. 

**************

                "I can't believe you did that!" Lily said, still annoyed, when they had left Zonko's. "What if I hadn't been wearing anything under my robes?"

"Then it would have been even better!" Sirius grinned. James made a disgusted noise. 

"Excuse me," Lily demanded rounding on him, "What are you trying to say?"

"That you're ugly," James replied promptly. 

"Break it up, lads," Remus laughed, "We're at the Three Broomsticks." They pushed open the swing doors and sauntered in casually. They walked up to the bar, looking around for Rosmerta, who they had met on a previous visit. However, the first person they saw was Madam Jade, her mother. 

"Well hello again," she said, smiling at them. "Only your first day back and you're here already? Five butterbeers is it?"

"Yes, please," Sirius said.  "Where's Rosmerta?"

Madam Jade's smile widened, she knew her daughter genuinely liked these five children. 

"I'll just fetch her. But don't you distract her from working."

"We won't," they said cheerfully. Within minutes, Rosmerta had come out to the front of the pub, and exclaimed with delight at seeing them again. 

"It's been a long time!" she said. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you all again."

"Christmas, wasn't it?" Remus said. 

"But we'll be here more often this year," Lily said. "We're actually allowed to come to the village this year."

"Will you even want to come if you're allowed?" Rosmerta asked. "But how long does it take you to get here? Because you do know its half five already?"

"Oh crap! We're going to miss dinner!" Peter and Sirius yelled in unison. 

"Stop whining," James said shortly. "We'll only be a little late."

"But its dinner!" Sirius said, looking at them with puppy-dog eyes. 

"We'll just finish this one drink, then, Siri," Lily said comfortingly. 

                But one drink turned to two, and tow to four, and before they knew it, and hour and a half had passed. Upon realising this, they hurriedly packed up and left. Of course, by the time they got back to Hogwarts, dinner was long over, so before going to the Gryffindor Tower, they stopped off at the kitchens. #

                As they tried to walk quietly through the Common room, James bumped into Steve Black. 

"Hullo," Steve said coldly. "Wherever have you been? We had to cover for you; McGonagall wanted to know where you all were."

They stared at him, aghast. "What did you say?"

"That you were practising Quidditch." 

The third years heaved a sigh of relief. That was the one excuse McGonagall was likely to believe. "Thank you Steve," Sirius said sincerely. 

"Just make sure you do the same for me if I'm ever in need."

"Don't be," Sirius grinned. "I don't want you turning out like me." Steve stuck his tongue out. 

"Made any friends yet, Stevie?" Lily asked casually. She dropped into the nearest chair, mindless of the fact that Remus was already sat in it. 

"OY, Lily, get off!" Remus yelled. 

"Yeah, I have actually," Steve said, indicating three people sitting on the floor around him. A girl with dark blonde hair smiled cheerfully up at Lily, a boy with bright golden hair looked up shyly, and another girl, with soft brown hair and eyes glared sullenly at them. 

"Hi," Lily said, a bit unnerved by the dislike simmering in the eyes of the brown haired girl. "I'm Lily."

"I'm Eleanor," said the first girl brightly. "But I much prefer to be called Len. How do you know Steve?"

"I'm his brother," Sirius said, stepping forward and bowing with a flourish, earning himself delighted looks from the two girls. Deciding that such an opportunity was not to be missed, James and Steve joined together to push Sirius over, and he ended up sprawled at the feet of the second girl, still smiling charmingly. "Who are you?" he asked. "I'm Rose," the girl replied, noticeably flourishing under Sirius' attention. "But people tend to call me Thorn."

"Why?"

"'Cos I'm always getting into trouble," she replied with a mischievous grin that was utterly unlike any expression that had crossed her face previously. 

"I like you already," Sirius said, sharing a grin with the younger girl. 

"So what's your name?" Lily asked the shy looking boy gently. From where they were ranged about, the rest of the group stared intently. To their surprise, the boy glared back at them. Steve snickered behind his hand. 

                When the boy didn't answer, James demanded imperiously, "Well, what _is_ your name?" Again, Steve laughed, and this seemed to give the boy some courage. 

"Murgatroyd Harrison Jones," he said defiantly. Steve burst into loud, open laughter, while the others stared in shock. "Have you got a problem with it?"

                Suddenly the floodgates opened and the others were also roaring with laughter. "What _were_ your parents thinking?" Sirius chortled. 

"See! This always happens! I hate my name! I HATE it!" the unfortunate boy said fiercely, looking most upset. 

                Lily alone had managed, with difficulty, to keep from laughing, because she saw the boy was really upset. Now after swallowing once to choke back laughter, she asked practically, "If you hate your name, what would you _like_ to be called?"

The boy looked up at her, confused. "Well, I've always liked the name Sammie…"

"Sammie it is then," Lily interrupted happily. "From now on we'll call you Sammie, and anyone who doesn't will have to answer to us!" she indicated the third years. "Won't they?"

"Of course," Remus answered stoutly, despite finding it very hard to breath with Lily on top of him. 

"Whenever a friend is in need, we are there to defend his honour," Sirius said. Lily rolled her eyes. When she realised James was not going to add his promise, she kicked him. 

"OW! Ok, Sammie it is," he answered hurriedly. 

"Hello Sammie, pleased to meet you," Lily said, laughing. From his place on the floor, Murgatroyd Harrison Jones, now known as Sammie, looked up at Lily with adoring eyes. arr

**************

Well, that's the end of this chapter. Remember, reviews make me happy, and being happy makes me write more!


	3. New Aquaintance

Chapter 3: A New Acquaintance

Authors Note:  apologies for this taking so long, I will try to write and upload faster in future, really!

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognisable characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling and I'm not making any money off them, nor will I ever be. 

                "Race you!" Sirius yelled as they left Potions on a Thursday evening 3 weeks into the new term. 

"You're on!" Lily was already half way down the corridor, followed by Remus. 

"I can beat you anytime, Black!" James challenged, haring off after them. 

"Where are we racing to?" Peter worried. When he got no answer, he pushed himself to chase after them. 

                Lily has caught up with Sirius, and was beginning to overtake him. Laughing, neck-and-neck, they careered around a corner, and Sirius crashed into Filch. He stumbled, James caught up with him, and they ran off whooping in exultation as Filch roared after them.

"Potter! Black! Get back here now! Detention!" Unfortunately, Filch's dignity, which was dubious at the best of times, literally went up in flames as Remus ran past and knocked him into a wall sconce. "ARRGH!" screamed Filch, trying to put out the flames. 

"Serves you right!" Remus shouted recklessly, still smarting from all the times Filch had punished them. 

                Lily was by now far in the lead, and in an effort to lose the boys, she spun around two sharp corners and crashed through a secret hole in the wall. As she entered a small, cosy meeting room near the castle's entrance, she shuddered to a stop. For sitting in front of her…no…it couldn't be…it was-

                James ran into the room behind he, mere seconds ahead of Sirius. Gangly and awkward with his new height, James tried to stop, but couldn't, tripped, and ended up in a pile at Lily's feet. Sirius, who had been born with a natural, easy grace, managed to avoid both Lily and the prone James, who he neatly jumped over. Straightening up, Sirius was just in time to turn and catch Remus as the light-haired boy virtually fell through the wall. 

"Lily! Whatever possessed you to stop like that?" James demanded angrily.

"I do believe that your friend was somewhat surprised to see me here, which would explain why she halted." The voice that spoke was smooth and cultured, and coldly amused. The three boys, none of whom had noticed the stranger sitting in the high backed chair across the room, looked up suddenly, and were most startled to see someone who looked exactly like-

"Malfoy!" James spat out. 

"Yes, I see you recognise me," Malfoy chuckled lightly, although he did not look at all amused. He looked so exactly like Lucius that they had to be father and son, although there were some minor differences; instead of Lucius' pale blue, lifeless eyes, this man had intense, grey eyes hidden behind thin glasses, as well as a few matching strands of grey in his perfectly arranged hair. James got to his feet, still glaring, an identical look now present on three other faces. 

"Since I have been so rudely interrupted, may I have the ahh…_pleasure _of knowing who I was interrupted by?" Malfoy asked mockingly. 

"Sirius black, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin and James Potter," James answered haughtily. "And you're Fiorex Malfoy."

"Well, I do meet with exalted company; Arcturus Black the famous Auror's son, and Angela Lupin, top broom mechanic is your mother. But Evans? I don't know that name. Muggle born, are we?" Fiorex asked with a sneer. 

Lily bristled. "So what of it?"

"Nothing, of course. To me, Muggle borns are just as capable as the next wizard." Fiorex Malfoy paused, seemingly to suppress a laugh. "And of course," he continued. "A Potter. I should have known by the hair. Archie Potter, my good friend and Minister of Magical Law Enforcement. How is your father, James? And your mother? Happy, are they?" Malfoy smiled a satisfied, cat-like grin as James' face turned bright red, and his fists clenched. 

"You should know," James said tightly, "He was at Malfoy Manor in the summer."

"A mere social visit," Malfoy said dismissively. 

"So you're not hiding illegal Dark potions and artefacts there then?" James asked, eyes wide with mock innocence. Sirius laughed and hurriedly turned it into a cough. 

                This time, it was Malfoy's turn to go crimson. "Of course not," he snapped. "A Malfoy would never do such a thing." Sirius and Remus both fake-coughed, and Fiorex glared. "I'm bored of you now, please go," he demanded imperiously. 

"But we want to stay here," Lily grinned, and sat down. A chance to annoy a Malfoy, any Malfoy, must not be passed up. Sirius and James joined her, and Remus sat down with a look reminiscent of a burning martyr. "I asked you to leave," Malfoy said through gritted teeth. 

"And we said we wanted to stay here," Sirius replied with a hint of laughter in his voice. 

                The argument might have continued for quite a while in this vein if not for the sudden appearance of Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. "Father!" cried Lucius, "why are you here with these…these…things?"

"Is that the best you can come up with, Lucy?" Remus asked coldly. 

"Shut up, Lupin. You should just be glad my father hasn't blasted you all into a million pieces by now," 'Lucy' sneered. 

"Oh, I think I would have found a more painful way of killing them than that," Fiorex grinned, looking almost feral. 

"Twisted, sick," Sirius muttered. 

"Sad and pathetic," Remus added. Both Malfoys, father and son, scowled at him, distorting their unusually perfect features.  

"You'd both be so much prettier if you smiled," Lily said sweetly. Snape had to restrain Lucius from attacking her at that; his looks were his weak point. 

"Lucius, come," Fiorex demanded curtly. Obviously used to obeying his father, the younger Malfoy followed, but before he left he turned to face the Gryffindors. "I will not forget this. And neither will my father, you may be sure. One day…" he shut the door softly, cutting off any retaliation that may have been made. 

"Well," Lily said, after long moments of silence. 

"Well, indeed," James muttered. 

"That makes three Malfoys who hate us," Remus stated wearily. 

"Are there any more? I think we should try collect 'em all. Like chocolate frog cards: 'Collect the Enmity of the Meanest Malfoy.'" Sirius joked, prompting quiet laughs from the others. 

"We're only 13, and we have, how many? Four mortal enemies!" Lily grinned. 

"Oh, more than that, surely," Sirius said, looking upset at the smallness of the number.

"At least five," James argued. "Three Malfoys, Snape and Headly."

"We should set targets," Sirius suggested. 

"I don't think we need to, I think we do well enough without," Remus said logically. 

"Good point," Lily agreed. 

"Sirius and co., Mortal Enemy Makers!" cried Sirius. 

"Cant we be Mischief Makers? It sounds better," Lily pleaded. 

"The _Magical_ Mischief Makers," James added. 

"But not Sirius and Co.," Remus said hastily. 

"No," James and Lily agreed. 

"Magical Mischief Makers for Ever!"  James cried. They all piled their hands and shouted "For Ever!" before falling over with laughter. 

                Standing in the doorway, Peter puffed and panted and peered curiously at his friends, who were now almost hysterical. "It took me so long to find you," he said apologetically. "What's going on?" they all laughed even harder, and Peter, once again driven to distraction by his mad friends, muttered "You're all nuts."

**********************

                The newly created Magical Mischief Makers thought that they would be lucky enough never to meet Fiorex Malfoy again, or that, if they did, it would definitely not be within Hogwart's' stone walls. This certainly had been one of the major facts behind their behaviour when they met him, as even they knew it was not clever to make an enemy of the head of one of the most powerful wizarding families in the country. But they had been sure they would never cross his path again, and had therefore deemed it safe to annoy him a little. 

                Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. A week after their meeting, Fiorex Malfoy was Dumbledore's guest at dinner. As they saw this, James and Remus, the more cautious members of the group, shared an apprehensive look. Seeing your mortal enemy rarely bodes well. But seeing your mortal enemy next to your Headmaster, the man with ultimate control over your life, was very, very bad. What could be going on?

                Dinner progressed with seemingly more waiting than usual, and the Gryffindor table was tense. It was obvious to everyone who the man seated at Dumbledore's right hand was, and the sight of a Malfoy was never a good thing for Gryffindors. The Slytherin table, however, seemed to be in great spirits, laughing and joking with a joyfulness rarely seen in the menacing group. Finally, the meal ended, and Dumbledore stood up to speak. 

                "Good evening to you all. I hope you all enjoyed your meal," he beamed. "I'm sure many of you have noticed my guest, and are aware that this is Mr. Fiorex Malfoy." There was loud, enthusiastic clapping from the Slytherin table, and a few scattered claps from the rest of the room. Sirius was barely restrained from booing. 

                "He is here tonight because…well, I'll let him explain that himself." Dumbledore indicated Fiorex, who stood gracefully and inclined his head. 

                "Hogwarts," he said clearly, "had a fine history. It goes back, as I'm sure you know, about a thousand years, although the exact date is unknown.  During that time, it has produced some of the world's finest witches and wizards. The Malfoy family have been educated here since the founding, as we are one of the eldest pureblood families in existence." Dumbledore's face remained passive at these obviously Slytherin remarks, although many of the other teachers frowned. "And we have constantly proved we are one of the most prominent wizarding families in Britain, constantly being at the centre of power."

"Dark power," James whispered loudly, and there was a mild disturbance at the Gryffindor table as the Gryffindors, and those Hufflepuffs near enough to hear, choked back their laughter. 

"I myself was educated here of course," Fiorex continued, his cultured voice riding easily over the stifled giggles. "As were both my sons," he favoured the Slytherin table with a small smile, "And Hogwarts has made me into the wizard I am today."

"How come it didn't fuck up any one else then?" Sirius demanded quietly. 

"It did, all the Slytherins," Lily returned with a grin. 

"Therefore," Malfoy continued determinedly over a wave of similar whispers, "I feel that it is time for me, and the Malfoy family, to give something back. I am pleased to announce I will be making a large donation to Hogwarts, to be spent on whatever your esteemed Headmaster feels best." Fiorex smirked to himself, pleased with his generosity, and again, there was loud applause from the Slytherins, and polite clapping from the teachers. "I am glad Dumbledore gave me the opportunity to tell you this myself, but now I must leave, I have received news I have urgent business awaiting." With that, the plates cleared, and the students rose to leave."

                When they reached the entrance hall, James and Sirius were surprised to hear Dumbledore and Fiorex Malfoy talking by the doors. They nudged the others, and discreetly, the five moved closer to hear. 

"Charming speech, Mr Malfoy, I think it was very well received," Dumbledore was saying. 

"You do realise it is a very hefty donation, Dumbledore, even for a Malfoy," Fiorex said, his eyes glittering with menace. "I trust that it will help my son with his…ah…_teaching_ career?" Malfoy's tone left no room for doubt that this money wad intended as a bribe. 

"Of course, one of the areas the money will be spent on will be Defence Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "But as for your son himself…it remains to be seen whether he will make a good teacher."

Malfoy glared, but decided to continue with trying to make a deal with Dumbledore. "I know you have a meeting with the Ministry soon, Albus, I hope it goes well. I know you have a lot of influence there…I am, unfortunately, not on good terms with them at present. I hope I can still afford my donation."

Dumbledore smiled at him. "It would be a great pity if you could not…"

"Follow my lead," James hissed, beginning to casually saunter towards the two adults. "The cheek of that Malfoy! Thinking he can buy off Dumbledore with that donation!" he exclaimed loudly. 

"I know, I saw through him right away," Lily added.

"Do you think his 'pressing business is your father raiding the house again, Jamie?" Remus asked, grinning.

"I damn well hope so, the bastard deserves what he gets!"

"Mr. Black!" Dumbledore exclaimed loudly. "Apologise to Mr. Malfoy at once!"

Sirius knew immediately that he had gone too far, and said, with a simpering smirk, "I am most sorry, Mr. Malfoy, if I have offended in any way, I didn't mean it, _honest_!" Malfoy glared, aware Sirius was mocking him. 

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even more.  "I trust you have heard of Mr. Black and his friends?" he inquired of Fiorex.

"Yes, but I have also had the pleasure of meeting with them. I think we all understand each other very well." The five Gryffindors jumped slightly as Malfoy turned the full force of his glare on them. "Now, Dumbledore, I really must be going."

                "I do believe it is nearly curfew," Dumbledore said mildly to his five students, who grinned at him and ran off. Dumbledore returned to his office, whistling merrily, buoyed up by the loyalty of five thirteen year-old Gryffindors.

A/N:  again, apologies for the length of time this thing has taken me. Remember, reviews make me happy, and I write faster when I'm happy! 


	4. Too Big for his Boots

Chapter 4: Too Big for his Boots

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own any of the characters you recognise in this story, nor do I want to make any money from it

                Since the beginning of term, the third years had experienced two new, and completely different lessons; Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures. 

                Care of Magical Creatures was, quite frankly, a walkover. Their teacher, Professor Kettleburn, looked like a cross between a demented battle captain and a broken puppet. He has a wooden leg, numerous scars, was missing both an ear and one of his front teeth, and had a surprisingly thick shock of wild blonde hair. His lessons, despite being easy, were amazingly interesting. He loved nothing more than to stop everything he was doing and begin to tell a story about one of his many adventures, and it was the general opinion of his students that he had missed his true vocation in life. His stories held whole classes still, enthralling them with tales of suspense, told with great skill and perfect timing. 

                "-And I crept up, ever so carefully, behind the chimaera, ready to pounce, to mark my place in history, when BOOM!" the class jumped, "it became a beautiful woman, and the real chimaera attacked me from behind. And that, children, is the story of how I got this scar. Now, back to studying these…"

                His stories kept everyone quiet even Sirius. Even the Slytherins had nothing bad to say about Kettleburn. For it was, unfortunately, the Slytherins whom they had these lessons with. 

"That your girlfriend, Lupin?" Snape taunted as Remus soothed a frisky Hippogriff. 

"Well, she's prettier than yours, Sevvy," Remus returned, indicating Nott. 

"Do you want any help with that, Evans?" Lestrange asked, still madly in love with Lily. 

"I doubt you'd be able to help me if I was grappling with a Flobberworm, Lestrange, so piss off!"

                Arithmancy was mind-numbingly difficult, and somewhat boring. There were no interesting anecdotes in this class; in fact, to find the class at all interesting, you had to immerse yourself completely in the work. Remus had no trouble doing this, as he was a natural scholar, but James and Sirius had no sort of concentration, and Lily and Peter simply found the work too hard. 

                It was also absolutely impossible them to play jokes in Arithmancy, however. The teacher was Professor Dunworthy, the Head of Gryffindor House, and while there was a certain extent to which you could have a joke with him, a certain line you could go up to, that line wasn't very far. He liked the third years to make trouble in other classes, and with some teachers he even encouraged it, but in his own class it was not acceptable. Dunworthy was also obviously a clever man, and would not put up with incompetence from his students. Therefore, rarely a lesson went by when he did not throw Lily, James or Sirius out of the room. 

                "Are you three out of class _again_?" Orion exclaimed in surprise, as he walked past during on of his free periods. "Luke won't be pleased."

"Well you can tell Luke-," Lily began.

"That he's turning into David."

"That he can shove his problem up his arse!"

"Sirius!" Orion said, trying to sound angry and failing miserably. 

"Luke's getting too big for his boots," Lily said ominously. The three exchanged a look with sparkling eyes, a look that said 'we're up to something'.

"I don't want to know," Orion said nervously. "Just don't make it hurt too much."

"What?" Lily, Sirius and James all exclaimed with mock indignance, their eyes wide.

***************************

                "Re, don't you think Luke has got too big for his boots?" James asked when they got back to the dormitory. It was the day after the full moon, and Remus was still in bed, recovering. "Mhmmm," he muttered, somewhat unintelligibly. Angry that he wasn't being listened too, James jumped up onto the bed, shaking Remus' aching bones. "James!" Remus shouted angrily. "That HURT!"

"Sorry," James replied blithely, unaware of any pain he had caused. "But don't you agree with me?"

"If I say yes will you go away?" Remus asked, finally opening his eyes to the sight of his other three friends stood by his bed.

"No," James replied simply. "We've got a great idea for a prank!"

"Ok, what is it?" Remus asked with a hint of annoyance. He realised he was going get no more sleep, and so sat up, tired interest sparkling in his hazel eyes. 

"Well, like has been unbearable lately, we had to think of a way to get him," James explained. 

"And you know how the Quidditch match is coming up," Lily added. 

"And we're all on the team-," Sirius interjected with a brilliant grin which the others returned enthusiastically. He, Lily and Remus had all made it onto the team, as Beater, Chaser and Seeker respectively, beating many older students to the places. 

"Well, we thought that would be the best place to do something, because absolutely everyone would see," Lily finished. "The problem was, we didn't know what to do."

"So we thought we'd brew a boil potion, and err – _accidentally_ pour it over him," Sirius said enthusiastically.

                They stood before him, waiting for his opinions, knowing from experience that Remus could point out any holes in their plans. After thinking it over for a few minutes, Remus finally put them out of their misery. "I see two main problems with that plan," he said slowly. "One: all the teachers will also be there, so something as malicious as a boil potion is bound to get you in serious trouble. Secondly, it's just not very subtle. Not up to the standards of the Magical Mischief Makers. But I do have a better idea…"

"What?" Peter asked, speaking for them all. They were intrigued. 

"Doesn't Luke have a new girlfriend he's taking to the match? Well, what about that stuff we got at Zonko's that makes people's clothes disappear?"

"Oh, Remus, that's perfect!" Lily exclaimed. "He won't be able to look anyone in the eye for weeks!"

"Oh, and I bet he's got some really embarrassing underwear that he could be wearing?" Sirius asked, turning to James.

"He does have some that my Gran gave him which have little leprechauns all over them saying 'Hope ye get lucky!'" James said, giggling. "We'll have to make sure he's wearing those."

"But how?" Lily asked.

"That's easy," Peter replied. "Steal everything else."

"The Quidditch match is in three days, and that seems to be a foolproof plan. Maybe not idiot proof though, so I suggest you don't let Sirius anywhere near it," Remus joked, giving it his seal of approval. 

"OY!" Sirius yelped indignantly. "You're lucky you're ill, Lupin!"

"You sounded just like and injured puppy then," James laughed. 

"What is this, pick-on-Sirius day?" Sirius asked mournfully. 

"Yeah," said Lily darting in to tickle him. 

"Hey," Sirius said through his giggles, hoping to distract Lily, "When are we going to steal the underwear?"

"At the last possible moment of course," Lily said logically, redoubling her efforts. 

"Hey, can't you go fight somewhere else, I'm trying to SLEEP!" Remus finally yelled in exasperation. 

***********************

It was four a.m. on Saturday morning, and James and Sirius were cursing what ever divine influence had caused them to think of them plan. They crept silently up the stairs under the Invisibility Cloak, towards the room that Luke, as Head Boy, had to himself. "Why, oh why, did we ever volunteer for this?" James moaned softly. 

"Shush," Sirius hissed, all business now that he was on a prank. 

                They pushed the heavy wooden door open, and were immediately hit by the enormous sound of Luke's snoring. "Lord, he's worse than Pete," James muttered. 

"At least we wont have to be so quiet," Sirius replied, so quietly that the air hardly stirred. "Lumos," they said in tandem. 

                They began to search the room methodically, starting with the most logical place, the drawers. They eventually found Luke's underwear on a bookshelf, and hurriedly appropriated all but the dreaded leprechaun boxers, which they buried in the pile of socks. 

"Quick," James breathed. They had been too long already; the birds outside the castle were beginning to sing.

                When they reached the safety of their own dormitory, Remus was awake and waiting for them. "Where shall we put it?" James said, looking disgusted to be holding a pile of his brother's underwear. 

"Under Frank's bed, no one will think to look there," Remus said practically. "You've got about four hours sleep, night night." He lay back down next to Lily, who was still fast asleep with her teddy cradled in her arms. James and Sirius got back into their own beds, and were soon fast asleep. 

***********************

                "OH MY GOD!" shrieked a high, female voice. "Oh my God! And at your age too! And with all your friends in the room!"

                Peter sat up, sleepily aware there was someone else in the room, and saw the Deputy Head Girl looking at Remus' bed in an obvious state of shock. "What?" he groaned, at the same time as Frank, Remus and Sirius sat up. 

"I don't believe it! In a room with all your friends!" she said, still in the same high pitched voice, looking straight at Remus. 

"WHAT?" Remus snapped irritably. 

"You! And her! In the bed, in the dorm room, in-," she sounded as if she might go on for quite a while, so Sirius interrupted sharply, "Yes, they slept in the same bed, big bloody deal," at the same time as Luke and Orion burst into the room, demanding to know hat all the noise was about. 

"What _is_ going on here?" Luke said, while Orion, having taken in the situation at a glance, dissolved into laughter. 

                Upon hearing yet another angry voice, Lily finally decided it was time to find out what was going on. She sat up and stretched lazily, so that the t-shirt she was wearing rode up, and Sirius couldn't help but notice how Luke's eyes followed it. He frowned to himself.

                Shaking himself, Luke snapped out of it. "Kate, I simply sent you down here to make sure this lot wake up for the Quidditch. So why, oh why, were you shouting at," he checked his watch and groaned, "8.50 in the morning?"

"I came in here," Kate said rather breathlessly, "and those two were in the bed together, wearing hardly any clothes, and-,"

"Oh, it's about _that_," Luke said, finally realising. 

"Yes! Disgusting, I call it," Kate said angrily. 

Remus spoke up clearly, "if I might be allowed to explain-,"

"Lily _always_ sleeps in here," Sirius said with a dramatic sigh. 

"And it's better that she sleeps in a bed than on the floor," Peter added, while Remus looked annoyed at all the interruptions. 

"And I just pick whichever of them I feel like," Lily added, grinning directly, and flirtatiously, at Luke. 

Kate blushed at this simple explanation. "Well, still think it's wrong," she began.

"It's all their fault anyway," Frank said, indicating Luke and Orion. "If they hadn't locked them all in here, it would never have started."

"True, too true," Sirius said, still in drama mode. 

"Well," Luke said shortly, anxious to change the subject, "I sent Kate up here to wake you 'cos you all have a Quidditch match in two hours."

"I don't, why did you have to wake me up?" Frank snapped, while Lily, Sirius and Remus grinned. 

                Luke looked towards the bed of his younger brother, who was still fast asleep, only one foot visible. "Will someone _please_ wake my brother up!" he moaned. 

*******************

                The Gryffindor Quidditch team flew out onto the pitch to huge applause. "I give you Matthews, Allerton, Black and Potter, and Evans, Black and Lupin, the new members of the team, who've met in the middle for a last minute team talk," yelled the sixth year Hufflepuff who commentated. 

                Of course, they had not met for a team talk, but for a last minute discussion on who should pour the potion over Luke. "We'll do it at the end?" James asked. 

"No, everyone'll be too busy celebrating to notice, I say we do it now," Lily argued. 

"Lil's right, and I think she should do it," said Remus, exchanging a glance with Sirius. 

"'Cos Luke fancies you, Lil, or at least he thinks you're pretty," Sirius began. 

"Can't see why," James muttered.

"And if you go flirt with him, it'll add extra salt to the wound," Sirius finished. 

                The group split up, each going to take a warm up flight over one of the stands. Lily flew directly to the Gryffindor stands, looking for Luke, and soon spotted. She found the little vial of potion in her pocket and loosened the stopper, then flew down to Luke, who was sitting at the front with his new girlfriend. 

                "Hey, Luke" she said, grinning. "Going to wish me good luck for the match?" The girl, a blonde fifth year, glared at her. 

"From what I've heard, I don't need to."

"Why not?" Lily asked, flying until she was right next him. 

"Because you're supposed to be very good."

As Luke was talking, Lily discreetly dribbled a few drops of his back, his top and his trousers. She had a feeling the people behind might have seen, but that did not matter; they would be too curious to see what happened to tell. "Got to go, see you," she said hurriedly, and flew off to where the others were waiting, as Luke's girlfriend interrogated him. 

"Did you do it?" James asked. 

"Of course," Lily replied scornfully. 

                Within seconds, everybody present turned to the Gryffindor stand, as the stadium filled with derisive laughter. Luke could be seen, blushing furiously, in the middle of a crowd of laughing Gryffindors, wearing only his leprechaun boxers. 

"Nice boxers, Luke," Orion called as he flew past. Luke turned an even deeper shade of crimson as his embarrassed girlfriend flounced off. Lily, Sirius, James and Remus were laughing even harder than everybody else as they took their places for the start of the match. 

                They were playing Hufflepuff, widely reputed to be the easiest of the Hogwarts' teams. The Captains shook hands, and the games began. 

                It was, as they had expected, an easy match. All three of the new players excelled, performing the kind of daredevil antics that not many people were prepared to try. They were 50-0 up when the only exciting incident of the match happened. James was speeding towards the Hufflepuff Keeper, Quaffle in hand, being pursued by a Bludger. Sirius shot after him, intent on hitting the bludger away, and Amos Diggory, a Hufflepuff Beater flew up, intent on hitting the Bludger on. There was a short tussle that ended with Diggory hitting Sirius over the head with his bat, and Sirius punching him in return.  Unable to find out who was to blame, Madam Hooch awarded each team a penalty, and the score was soon 60-0. Sirius and Diggory parted with scowls, and spent the rest of the match trying to wind each other up. 

                After an hour and a half, Remus saw the snitch and dived for it. The other Seeker was at the other end of the pitch, and Remus caught it easily. They players congratulated themselves, and the celebrations began, minus only the Head Boy. 

********************

                When the third years reached their dormitory late that night, full of high spirits, they got a nasty shock to find Luke sat on Sirius' bed. 

"Hello," he said ominously. "Let's have a talk about today."

Frank left hurriedly, and the others gulped. 

A/N: that's the end of this chapter; if you liked it, leave me a review! Things are going to get a lot more angsty in the coming chapters…


	5. Mytery

Chapter 5: Illness 

Disclaimer: I do not, and will not ever own any of the characters recognisable in this story. Blah blah blah. You know the score.

Author's Note: right, people, this is the chapter where it gets angsty, and there are actually signs of a plot. So please, beware!

                "I cannot _believe _Luke makeus do this!" Lily exclaimed bitterly. 

"I can, he's always been a bastard," James growled. "Still, this just tops it all off. It's a bit out of proportion to the crime," Remus complained. 

"At least Jamie's getting more experience of doing things the Muggle way," Sirius said, attempting to force some humour into the situation. He realised he had failed as the other four turned to glare at him. 

"Honestly, Sirius, do you think there is anything funny about this? We have to clean the sodding great hall again!" James exclaimed. 

"And Luke, the evil sadistic fuck, even managed to top Headly. Bloody Hallowe'en feast," Lily muttered.

                Luke had been unexpectedly furious. He had raved wildly at them for some time, and James had only made things worse by telling Luke he could not take a simple joke. They had been banned from the Hallowe'en Feast, and the preceding Hogsmeade weekend, which took place on the following Sunday, and had then had to clean the Great Hall and the kitchens, without magic. No magic meant that they had to do all the washing up themselves, but first they had to get all the tableware into the kitchen – by hand.  This had all been before Luke had realised his girlfriend had dumped him. 

"Oh, my back aches," Sirius moaned. 

"I know, lets make this a competition of Gryffindor bravery," James said brightly. "The next one to complain gets dunked into the washing up water."

"Ok," they all agreed. It would certainly make things more interesting and they were sick of the sound of moaning. 

                For a while there was silence, as no one could think of anything to say that was not a complaint. But Sirius could never be silent for long, and soon began, "Merlin, I hate -," before cutting himself off. He looked around guiltily, hoping none of the others had heard. 

"Was that a complaint I just heard?" Remus asked innocently. 

"No," Sirius said angelically. 

"I think it was," James grinned. He and Remus grabbed Sirius and frog-marched him to the sink, while Lily and Peter moved plates out of the way. 

"Noo!" Sirius wailed loudly, as he was lifted into the sink, struggling wildly. 

"Here, wash his hair," Lily grinned, pouring washing up liquid onto Sirius' hair and rubbed it in. 

"Not my hair!" Sirius yelped, splashing at Lily, who was laughing. 

"What do you think you are doing?" demanded an angry voice from behind them. The three relatively dry Gryffindors spun around to find Professor Dunworthy behind them. 

"Err…giving the dog a bath?" James grinned hopefully.

Dunworthy couldn't help but laugh. "Make sure you do it thoroughly then," he said. "And once you've cleaned up the mess your 'dog' has made, you can go. The Hall is clean, and you've done a lot of work in here too. I'll explain to Luke." Privately, Dunworthy thought that the punishment had been far too harsh for the crime, and although he knew Luke had felt embarrassed, he could not help but wonder if the punishment had been given because of problems within the Potter family. He was well aware that the three bothers did not get along. 

"Thanks, Professor," they chorused cheerfully. 

"Hurry up, now," he said, laughing again at the soapy Sirius. 

                So it was that ten minutes later, the five were walking back through the darkened school towards Gryffindor Tower.  "I really like Dunworthy," Lily said happily. "He has a good sense of humour."

"And he let us off," Remus added shrewdly. Lily glared at him. 

"I still can't quite believe Luke did that," Sirius said incredulously. 

"Bastard's probably asleep now," James said sorely. 

"He should be, it's midnight. Oh, midnight on Hallowe'en, Muggles have all sorts of myths about this time," Lily said. 

"Do they?" Remus asked, always curious for more knowledge. 

"Yeah, ghosts and stuff."

"It is a bit creepy here now, it's so silent," James said, looking around.

"It'll be even creepier if we meet Mrs Norris, so lets hurry," Sirius said, shuddering. 

                They began to move more quickly through the dark and silent passages of Hogwarts. As they passed a shadowed alcove, a dark-robed figure stepped out silently behind them and muttered a few words in an old tongue. He then backed away, laughing silently. 

"Did you just feel something?" Lily asked, shivering. 

"Like what?" Remus asked. 

"Cold; something cold," Lily said slowly. 

"No," they answered, before hurrying on.

*****************

                Frank, who was shaking her desperately, woke Lily next morning. "What the hell!" she shouted at him, not pleased to be woken. 

"You're going to be late if you don't hurry, and I can't wake any of the others," Frank said angrily. "I didn't choose to wake you first, you know, I do value my life."

"Thanks, Frank, sorry I yelled," Lily said contritely, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "I don't know why you couldn't wake the others though."

"You try, then," Frank said huffily. He stood waiting, half dressed, as Lily slid out of James' bed and went to Remus' side. 

"Remus," she called, shaking him. "Remus!" He remained quietly asleep, breathing deeply even after Lily shook him so violently that one of his arms flew across the bed. "He's not going to wake up. I'll try Pete, and then I'll get the water," Lily said, beginning to look nervous. Remus was the only riser out of them all, and should have been up hours ago. When she tried to wake Peter, she got the same results. He appeared to be in a perfectly normal sleep, but could not be woken. "That's it," Lily said, trying to sound calm, but her voice was higher than normal. "Aqum." A jet of water shot out of her wand, directly onto Peter's face. "I'm so glad Flitwick finally taught us that."

                Nothing happened. Lily and Frank waited anxiously for something to happen; for Peter to even twitch; but he remained completely motionless. Lily repeated the charm over the other three boys, and when nothing happened, she turned her pale face towards Frank. "This is weird.  They should have woken. I don't like this," she said tightly. 

"What shall we do?" asked Frank, now looking openly frightened. 

"Go and get Luke, tell him it's urgent. And if he won't come, get 'Rion. Just them," Lily said, feeling better for having given the orders. Frank ran off immediately, and while he was gone, Lily paced about the room, periodically stopping to shake one of her friends. Every time she did this, and they didn't wake, she turned away with an angry noise, not liking to feel so helpless. What was taking Frank so long?

                Finally the door opened and Luke entered, looking angry. "I mean it, Lily, if you lot are having me on again you'll be suspended."

"I don't think they are, Luke," Orion, who had entered after, interrupted, before Lily could reply with her own angry words. 

"You seriously can't wake them?" Luke said incredulously, looking for the first time at Lily's pale face. 

"You try," she said bitterly. Luke went around the room, trying to wake the four boys, but met with as much success as Lily and frank had. For a long moment, the four conscious people stood completely still, unable to process the extraordinary events. "My God," Orion said softly, disbelievingly. 

"What do we do now?" Lily asked, visibly shaking. She, Orion and Frank looked at Luke, who seemed to be unsure of the responsibility placed on his shoulders. 

"We get a Professor, of course. I'll go and find Dunworthy, or Dumbledore or McGonagall or someone, and Frank, can you go straight to get Plastare? You two stay here to make sure nothing changes." He and Frank left hurriedly, and Orion sat down on Frank's bed. 

"C'm'ere, Lils," he said, and Lily rushed over to give him a fierce hug. "It'll be ok," he said soothingly. "It's probably just some trick by the Slytherins."

Lily looked up at him with bright eyes. "Have you ever heard of anything like this?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Exactly."

**************

                Dunworthy had as little success waking the four boys as Frank, Lily and Luke. He had waited, wracking his brains to think of what might be wrong, until Madam Plastare arrived and transported them to the Hospital Wing. 

                Dumbledore was waiting for them when they arrived there. "Thank you, Keith," he said. "I suggest you go to lesson now. Those fifth years will be causing trouble. I will, of course, keep you informed." Dunworthy left, looking worried. "Luke, Orion, I would suggest that you too go back to class. It will help to take your minds off things. Mr Longbottom and Miss Evans will be following you shortly." This left Dumbledore alone with Lily and Frank. "I suggest we leave the experts to their work," Dumbledore said lightly. "Would you lead the way to my office, Miss Evans?" 

                Soon they were all comfortably seated in Dumbledore's office. "Would you please run through the events of this morning?" Dumbledore enquired. "Be careful not to leave out even the slightest detail."

                "It was just like any other morning. I was a bit surprised when I woke up that Remus wasn't awake, he usually is; but apart from that, nothing was wrong," began Frank. "It wasn't until I had to wake them that I realised something was wrong. It's usually pretty easy to wake Remus and Peter, but none of them stirred so I tried Lily."

                "I woke up, and then I tried to wake them, but nothing happened, so I poured water over them," Lily continued, "'Cos that usually works, but _still_ nothing happened, so we got Luke and 'Rion, and they got Professor Dunworthy."

"And there was no sign of anyone having been in the room?"

Lily thought for a second. "No," she said. 

"And you've had no… fights with anyone recently?"

"Only Luke, and it couldn't have been him, or he wouldn't have fetched anyone."

"Hhm." Dumbledore thought for a moment, and the others waited nervously for his thoughts. "It would appear they are in some sort of enchanted sleep, and if so, there is nothing to worry about. But I cannot see why anyone would choose to do that in favour of, say, a curse or hex? And I do not see, Miss Evans, why you have been spared."

Lily had been thinking that herself. "What will you do," she asked. 

"Keep them in the Hospital Wing until we can find a way to wake them. It also means we can keep an eyes out for changes. I will not lie to you both, this is very disturbing. It has no motive, and no apparent effect." Seeing the worried looks on both their faces, he said kindly, "I would suggest you both go back to class. It will distract you somewhat."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily managed, as she left the office on shaky legs. 

****************

                Later that week, the boys still could not be woken, and Dunworthy anxiously asked Dumbledore's opinion. The two men were meeting in the Headmaster's office with McGonagall, who echoed Dunworthy's enquiry. "I am very much afraid to say," Dumbledore said solemnly, "that I do have an idea of what is wrong. If I were right, it would answer questions such as why Lily has apparently been spared, as well as why it is impossible to wake them. If I am correct, it is very, very serious."

"What is it?" McGonagall asked, her face paler than usual. 

"I would rather not say until I have conducted some more enquiries," Dumbledore replied. "I will know in a few days, but in the meantime rest assured that Viola Plastare is doing all she can."

"Albus," Dunworthy said heavily. "Is it truly serious?"

"I'm afraid so."

There was silence in the room for a long time as the three teachers let the implications of this sink in.

******************

                Classes that day provided no distraction for Lily, nor did they on any of the subsequent days. She was inattentive and often carelessly rude in class, but most teachers cut her some slack; they too were worried about the four boys in the Hospital Wing. Headley and Malfoy, scenting weakness, came down twice as hard on her, provoking many bitter arguments. 

"But you can't give me detention!" Lily cried angrily at Headley on the Thursday after the boys had failed to wake up. 

"Why not?" Headly asked in mock sympathy.

"Because I… because …you know perfectly well why not!" Lily yelled in exasperation. The true cause of the third years' disappearance from lessons was being kept from the rest of the students, although all the family members knew, as did the staff.  

"I have no idea why," Headly said, grinning.

"Fine, if you're going to be like that I just wont come. Cant you at least postpone it until this is over?" Lily pleaded. 

"You now have two detentions, Miss Evans, and you _will_ serve them tonight and tomorrow," Headly said with iron will. 

"The I'll just have to skip class to do what I need to do now," Lily said and rushed out of the room. 

                The younger Slytherins were also taking advantage of the situation. It was rare to find one of the third year Gryffindors alone, and they fully intended to capitalize on it. They taunted Lily continually; hoping to provoke her to a fight, and even succeeded a couple of times. Orion rescued her from both injury and punishment on the first occasion, but the second saw blood drawn on both sides, with Lily, Malfoy and Snape all sustaining injuries, as well as all three of them being reported to the Headmaster. Dumbledore was lenient with both sides, but warned Lily not to let herself be provoked again. 

                All together, it was a very hard week for everyone who knew what was wrong. Luke, Orion and Steve were all very concerned, and by the end of the week, the parents of the four boys had been contacted. Lily did no even have Quidditch to keep her occupied, as with three players missing, it was barely worth practising. Lydia, who had been entrusted with the secret by Orion, was very sympathetic, and promised Lily that if there was ever anything she might need, Lydia was there for her. 

                Lily spent all her free time in the Hospital Wing, just staring at her sleeping friends, or talking to them, even thought she knew they could not hear her. But the feelings of despair and helplessness were overwhelming, and on the Saturday evening after the Hallowe'en Feast, she could not face it. She begged Orion and Lydia to play Quidditch with her, and the three traipsed out to the Quidditch pitch. After a long and tiring game of tag, they made their way back inside. Trailing behind the others, Lily was the only one to hear the mocking laughter from coming from behind a statue. She spun around angrily, and out from the shadows stepped Professor Malfoy. 

"Ah, Miss Evans, where are your friends? Of course, I forgot, they're in the Hospital Wing," he said smoothly. Lily snarled at him, baring her teeth. "Was it you who cursed them, I wonder?" Lily stood as taut as a bowstring, barely able to restrain herself from attacking him. "Or maybe it was Lupin? With his er…affliction, I wouldn't be surprised."

                This last taunt was too much and Lily flew at him, fists flailing wildly. Alerted too late, Orion and Lydia raced back to pull Lily from the Professor, but not before she had landed a stinging blow on his face. "Oh, Christ," Orion muttered. 

                Professor Malfoy glared at them, his usually pale face red with anger. "Come with me," he commanded, dragging Lily by the arm towards the Headmaster's office, Orion and Lydia following helplessly in his wake. 

"Butterscotch," Malfoy muttered, before pulling Lily up the stairs. He rapped loudly at the door, which was promptly opened by Dumbledore. 

"Miss Evans, Mr Black," Dumbledore said calmly, completely ignoring the Professor. "I was just about to come looking for you." He ushered them into the office, where Luke was already sat with Dunworthy, and shut the door on Professor Malfoy and Lydia. "We have discovered what is wrong with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter."

Lily sat down, shaking suddenly. "Yes?"

"It is very, very serious. Much more than I originally thought. And you too are in great danger, Lily."

A/N:  Cliffhanger, hehe. What could possibly be wrong? I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible. 


	6. Cursed Part A

Chapter 6A: Cursed

Authors Note: I am unbelievably sorry that this has taken so long. It was due to be up this time last week, but AOL cut my access to the Internet, and since then I've been on holiday. As for before that, I really have no excuse, I can only repeat I'm sorry. Anyway, I hope this lives up to expectations. It's only the first part, as the whole thing is longer than I thought it would be, so I've split it in two. The next part will be up very soon!

                "It is very, very serious. Much more so than I originally thought. And you too are in great danger, Lily."                 

**********

"Why?" Lily demanded. "What's wrong? How do you know? How do you cure it? Why -,"

"Lily, please. I will explain it all if you'll simply give me a chance," Dumbledore said kindly. Lily looked up sheepishly, but could not keep the pleading look from her eyes. 

"Your friends are under a curse. A very dark curse, which requires much power and knowledge of the Dark Arts to cast. It is the Ecliades Curse, named for the wizard who invented it. Its effect is to send the cursed people into a magical sleep, which slowly saps them of their physical strength. What we have not been telling you is that over the past few days, the pulses and breathing of the four boys has been getting slowly, but steadily, worse."

Upon hearing this, Orion jumped to his feet. "Why? Why haven't you been telling us?" he demanded angrily. 

Lily ignored him. "How do you cure it?" she asked Dumbledore clearly. 

"I'm very much afraid, Lily, that there is no cure. That is the genius of the curse. It is so effective because only the cursed person themselves can affect the outcome. It feeds off of will power, so the more determined the person is, the stronger it gets. It can only be defeated when the person totally gives up, which does not happen very often. And when it does, it can leave extensive psychological damage."

Lily, Luke, Orion and Dunworthy, who was also obviously hearing this for the first time, stared at Dumbledore, aghast. They were well aware of how stubborn the boys could be, and it was certain they were fighting the curse running riot in their bodies with all the strength they had.

                Marshalling his wits, Luke said, "You said Lily was in danger."

"Yes…" Dumbledore said slowly. "And that is one of the more strange aspects of the curse. After the onset of puberty, it can take from one to twp weeks longer to begin to affect girls. Which means, Lily, you too could be cursed, and there is no way of us knowing, or of halting it," Dumbledore finished, looking very old. Dumbledore passed a hand across his eyes, while the three students sat in shock. It was almost too much to take in, and the feeling of helplessness had doubled, tripled, and multiplied a thousand fold. They had hoped that with information there would be something they could do. Now they knew there was not. 

                "An early night might be in order, I think, for us all," Dumbledore said kindly. "You are now excused from classes if you wish, and, of course, from all detentions. If you wish, I can give you a sleeping potion."

They declined his offer, and left the office. "I agree with Dumbledore, bed is the best idea," Luke said firmly. They walked with saddened steps to Gryffindor tower, and bade each other good night. Upon reaching the third year boys dormitory, where she had been sleeping for the past week, Lily rummaged in James' trunk. "Like hell I'm going to bed," she said aloud. "I'm going to the library." With that, she swirled James' cloak around her shoulders and left the room. 

*************

                James was running through a forest. It was dark, and wet, and tree branches smashed into him, but it did not stop his headlong flight. He was chasing something, something elusive, that he could just see in the distance. A sense of fear, and evil, pervaded everything he did, and he somehow knew that he had to catch up with his quarry, or they would come face to face with the evil he could sense all around him. He ploughed on through the dense woodland, avoiding all barriers in his path with an easy grace he did not possess in real life. The pounding of two sets of hooves could be heard above his ragged breathing, and he looked around desperately for the animal, before realising that he himself was a cloven animal, and so was what he was chasing. 

                Animal-James continued to run for what seemed like hours, and he was getting more exhausted by the minute, but he was making no impression on his quarry, and the feeling of evil was growing ever more powerful. The light of the moon flashed off the heaving sides of the creature in front of him, as it crested a hill, and began to draw even further away from him. 

                With a grunt of annoyance, the animal-James re-doubled his efforts to catch it, and the pain he found himself in grew apace. 

************

                "So it's true," Lily whispered to herself. She held a book up to the glowing tip of her wand and re-read, 'The Ecliades Curse is possibly the most deadly of all non-instantaneous Dark Curses. It works slowly, is impossible to counter, and the more it is fought, the more painful the effects are. It takes great power to perform, and must be done in close proximity to the recipients.'

Lily closed the book with a snap, and left the library, feeling nothing except for burning anger at whoever had done this. Whoever it was deserved the worst fate possible, and she was determined to discover who it was. But still she could think of no possible suspects.

*************

                Sirius struggled with the other boy, knowing that much depended on the outcome of this fight, but not quite knowing what it was about. The other boy was fighting dirty, scratching, biting, and pulling his hair, and Sirius had the feeling, somehow, that he was seriously outnumbered. Around him, he could hear the echoing shouts of his friends, as James and Remus fought unseen attackers. He battled desperately, but seemed to make no headway, as his opponent met every attack he made with twice as much force. Screams from his friends made him resort to his last chance, and he kicked the other boy viciously between the legs. His unfamiliar foe fell over in pain, and Sirius was at last free to look at his mysterious surroundings, which were suddenly void of people. Dank, slimy walls provided an atmosphere of menace, and he shivered, realising that he must be somewhere within the dungeons.

                He was still stunned from the fight, and it took him precious seconds to realise that James and Remus, his beloved friends, had disappeared. He looked around for an exit, desperate to find them, when all of a sudden; he heard agonised screams in a voice that could only be Remus. Seeing a doorway half hidden in shadow, he made for it at top speed, determined that whoever was hurting Remus would pay. 

************

                Lily did not attend classes for the next three days. She told herself, and the anxious teachers, that there was no point, for she was not going to concentrate, and she certainly wasn't going to learn anything. She spent her days and most of the nights in the private hospital wing where the boys had been moved to, and which now held an extra bed in case she should fall sick. When she returned to the boys' dorm late at night, she would often hear Frank crying, or find Steve in his brother's bed. 

                By the second Thursday after the boys had contracted the curse, even Lily could see the boys were no longer in an ordinary enchanted sleep. Their breathing was fast and shallow, their faces a dull grey colour, and their temperatures high. They often thrashed or cried out, as if having bad dreams, and when this happened, Madam Pomfrey, who had been assigned to look after them full time, would rush over to try and calm them. It was rare that she got there before Lily did, however. Lily would hold her friends still, stroking their hair, and whispering soothing words, and they would soon become still, apparently comforted by her presence. 

                Lily would often spend these night times alone except for the nurses, for Luke had thrown himself into his schoolwork, Orion was allowing Lydia to comfort him, and Steve, at 10, was considered too young for lengthy visits. Lily was content to sit alone, for she often found that having people around her made her more emotional than she wanted to be. But her carefully constructed peace of mind was soon to be shattered.                

                The heavy wooden door opened with a squeak, and Lily looked around sharply to see who was disturbing her thoughts. Professor McGonagall walked in; looking much more dishevelled than Lily had ever seen her. She was missing her hat and cloak, and her normally tidy hair was messy. She sat down tiredly next to Lily, and looked over at her in concern. "Is there any change?" she asked quietly.

"None," Lily said shortly. 

"And how-," the Professor began, but she was cut short by an agonised yell from Sirius. Lily rushed forward to calm him, finally turning away after pressing a kiss to his forehead. As she left Sirius' side, Lily's face showed her emotions unguardedly for a moment, and McGonagall saw quite clearly the mix of fatigue, stress, grief, and most clearly, despair. She held out her arms to Lily, wincing inwardly at the pain the thirteen year-old girl must be going through, and Lily paused for a moment, caught between the promise of comfort and her pride. But the comfort won out, and she suddenly rushed forward into the Professor's arms, letting out a torrent of tears. 

                It was a catharsis to Lily, who had not allowed herself to cry since Orion had hugged her on the day the curse had begun. She sobbed on McGonagall's shoulder for a long time, allowing herself to show her emotions, and for just a short time, to believe that there was an adult here who could take the responsibility of caring for and curing her friends. McGonagall hugged her tight, knowing that it was best for the girl to let it all out. "It's ok to cry, Lily," she said comfortingly, barely restraining her own tears. 

"It's just that, they might not get any better, and there's nothing I can do, and I'm so-o-o scared!" she wailed, beginning to cry again. McGonagall drew a handkerchief out of the air and handed it to Lily, who scrubbed furiously at her face.   

                When she had composed herself again, Lily looked up at McGonagall. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't-,"

"That's ok, Lily, its important to cry," the older woman said, smiling slightly. "If you ever need to talk, remember, we're all here."

"Thanks," Lily muttered, feeling embarrassed that she was having this conversation with one of her teachers, who was usually engaged in telling her off. 

"Now, I think it is time for you to go to bed," McGonagall said firmly. "It's ok, I'll watch over them, and I know Orion will be here later. Go to sleep, Lily. Get a good nights rest."

Lily left, after saying goodbye to each of her friends. 

************

                Remus stood, in his human form, looking up at the night sky. It was obvious from the glint of moonlight on water that he was near to the Hogwarts Lake, and as the full moon glittered above him, he revelled in this opportunity to see the moon in all her beauty, a joy that had been lost to him with the wolf's bite. He sought the Dog Star, shining so brightly like Sirius himself, and stood, drowning in the magnificence of the moment. 

Without warning, Sirius came into view, standing on the top of a small hill, outlined clearly against the moonlight. He looked so stunning standing there that the wolf inside Remus felt a sudden urge to rip and tear him to pieces, to destroy his beauty, and Remus' human form was unable to counteract the urge. 

                Slowly, fighting himself every step of the way, Remus moved towards Sirius, who not believing himself to be in any danger, looked at his friend with large, luminous eyes. Remus' fierce internal battle raged on, with his human side begging himself to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction, while the wolf, now in ascendancy, continued to move him nearer to his friend. Suddenly, with a characteristically joyful expression, Sirius bounded down towards the lake and Remus. Horrified, Remus exerted every ounce of his will power and collapsed to the floor, in pain worse than any transformation had ever put him through, willing the wolf back into submission. 

************

                A day later, Lily fell victim to the curse herself. She was transported to the Hospital after the grief-stricken Steve had raised the alarm, and missed the arrival of the Blacks, Lupins and Pettigrews, as well as her own parents, by a mere two hours. Less than two weeks after the five most famous students in the school had been serving detention in the best of health, the staff, and few students who knew, were grieving for the loss of hope that at least one might remain physically unharmed.

*********

                Peter stood backed against a wall, surrounded by some of the most evil-looking individuals he had ever seen. None were recognisable, yet without a doubt he knew they belonged to the House of his enemies, Slytherins. Where James, Lily, Sirius and Remus had disappeared to, he had no idea, but before leaving they had said to him only one thing: guard this with your life. He had no idea what 'this' was, but he _did know that he should die before letting the Slytherins have it. That was why the usually timid Peter Pettigrew, the quietest of the five friends, was now facing down more Slytherins that even his illustrious friends could hope to fight and emerge victorious. _

                They moved closer to him, and Peter could feel the smooth stones of Hogwarts Castle pressing into his back. "Give it to us," the tallest of his enemies demanded in a low, rasping voice. "You can't possibly hope to hold out, and we'll let you go unharmed if you give it to us now." Unable, from fear, to form words, Peter shook his head vigorously. The semi-circle of Slytherins moved still closer, so that Peter could smell the faint reek of the Potions classroom coming from the leader. The boy clasped his hand around Peter's neck and pushed him back towards the wall, and Peter choked. 

Just as he was about to give in, and hand the boy his precious secret, he heard James' voice echo within his head, entrusting Peter with this, the most precious Magical Mischief Maker secret. "This is the most important thing you can ever do for us, Pete, for _me! Die before you give this up!"_

Mastering all his strength, Peter shouted "NO!" at the top of his strained lungs, and the Slytherins moved back in shock. 

**********

"Are you telling me that there is nothing, _nothing, you can do to help my daughter?" Graham Evans demanded angrily. "For all your __magic, my daughter is still going to die?"_

"That's not exactly the case, Mr. Evans," Dumbledore said patiently. "The outcome of the curse can be affected, but only by Lily herself." As Graham Evans settled back to comfort his crying wife, Dumbledore reflected on this, the fourth time he had had to explain this today, and how weary he felt of everything. He had the utmost sympathy for the families of Lily, Sirius, Remus and Peter, and he understood all too well the hopelessness they were feeling, because he was feeling it himself. Lily's parents had been the last to arrive, having had to take the Hogwarts Express, and they were thankfully the last parents he would have to talk to about this. James' parents hadn't turned up, but then, he truly hadn't expected them to. 

"Can we at least see Lily?" her distraught father asked after a few moments of silence. 

"Of course, please follow me," Dumbledore said. 

**********

                It was a few hours later, by Peter's reckoning, and he was still surrounded by the now very angry Slytherins. A sharp stone was pressing into his back, and he was beginning to wonder what exactly the big secret was, that it should be worth all the pain he knew was coming. It was obvious the Slytherins were now debating the best way of taking his secret by force, and he knew that when they decided to attack, the memory of James' voice asking him to keep it safe would not help him. As the three biggest of his foes turned to face him, fists raised, Peter made a quick decision. They advanced towards him, but stopped abruptly when Peter took his hands, holding the secret, from behind his back. "If – if – if I give this to you freely, will you let me go?" he asked, in a trembling voice. 'Really,' Peter thought to himself, 'James and the others wouldn't have expected me to go through this to keep their secret safe. I think I've done quite well already.'

The leader of the Slytherins stepped forward. "Why, of course," he said in a silky voice. "Didn't we say that hours ago? But just hand it over to us, and you can walk out of here unharmed."

Peter took one look at what was in his hands, but his mind was already made up. "Here, then," he said, thrusting it at them, before walking out. As the door shut behind him, he could hear cackles of insane laughter, and was suddenly seized with guilt. 'Oh god, what have I done?' he thought, beginning to weep. 

*Next part coming soon. 


	7. Cursed Part B

Cursed: Part B

**********

                For the next two days, the families of the cursed Gryffindors stayed in the Hogwarts guest apartments. Their presence, and curse itself, was still kept secret from the rest of the school, but the fact that their parents were there was a great comfort to Orion and most especially Steve. 

                At dawn on the third day since Lily had been taken ill, and their parents had arrived, Madam Pomfrey rose as usual to check the vital signs of her five patients. With James, Sirius and Remus there was no major change, but when she ran her wand over Peter, she nearly fainted from shock. She dropped her wand and rushed from the room. 

                Madam Pomfrey flew into her own room as if being chased by ravenous beasts, and dropped to her knees in front of her fireplace. The force of the emotion which had carried her there was so strong that she spelled up the inter-Hogwarts Floo network without using her wand. Within seconds her head had appeared in the Headmaster's study, and she could see Professor Dumbledore snoozing in his chair, just like the portraits on his walls, and looking twenty years younger than when he was awake. "Headmaster!" she said loudly. "HEADMASTER!" 

Dumbledore jerked awake, and seeing the nurse's beaming face, he too broke out into a smile. "Well, what news?"

"It's Peter, Albus. His fever's broken. He'll live!"

**********

                Lily shivered as the thunderstorm crashed all around her. Thunder echoed off the distant Scottish mountains, coming back to torment her again and again. It didn't occur to her to wonder why she was out, quite possibly in the Forbidden Forest, during a torrential downpour the like of which she had never seen in her life. She only new that she had to find something, to find some_one, to find James! James, who was terrified of thunderstorms and couldn't possibly be left alone during this mother of all storms. Rain trickled down her back, already soaked through her clothes as Lily set off to find him. _

                As she progressed through the dark forest, Lily began to hear the noises of others around her. Not human others, but animal noises she didn't recognise, which filled her with dread. Without warning, a slithery, snake-like animal scudded across the path in front of her, and Lily jumped. However, the beast made no move to attack her, or even come any nearer to her, so she continued to walk. 'What kind of animals were out in a storm like this anyway?' Lily thought, shivering.

James was here somewhere, she just knew it, and she had to get to him. Even as the wind grew stronger, whipping tree branches at her, and wailing loudly, Lily knew she had to continue. That was what friends did.        

But now the wind was almost to strong to walk into, and Lily thought about giving up, or even just pausing for a second. Suddenly, as if realising this, the wind dropped for a second, creating an eerie silence. Through the air that now seemed thick as treacle, Lily could hear, quite clearly, the distant sound of someone sobbing. Picking herself up from where she had been crouching on the ground, she walked on, into the stinging arrows of the rain. 

***********

Peter's parents tried not to be too happy openly, considering that none of Peter's friends had yet recovered, but they found it almost impossible to quench their joy. When they heard the news, they embraced tightly for a long time, and upon breaking apart, Mr Pettigrew had tears running freely down his face, while his wife was beaming with joy. They spent all day in the hospital wing with their son, who they obviously doted upon. 

As soon as Peter regained full consciousness, he demanded to know where his friends were. With obvious concern for the effect this news might have on him, his parents told him that they too had suffered the curse. The guilt Peter had been feeling ever since he had woken increased at this, because his tired mind twisted the dreams he had had whilst cursed until he felt that he was responsible for his friends' still being cursed. Despite his parents' attempts to cheer him up, he remained sunken in depression, unable to understand why he was getting well but the lives of his friends were still in danger. 

***********

Still curled up in pain, Remus looked up to see Sirius standing above him, grinning his normal idiotic, beautiful grin. Faced with this vision above him, Remus hurriedly closed his eyes to try to counteract the wolf, and curled even tighter in on himself, digging his nails into his palms to try to keep some semblance of sanity and normalcy within. The wolf, his other self, growled inside him, demanding that he fulfil his urges, rip, shred, tear Sirius apart, and not only that, but revel in the new feelings as well. Remus whimpered, determined not to let go, and lay there for what seemed like hours, before feeling a gentle touch on his head.

"Remus, what's wrong?" asked the dream-Sirius, kneeling just above his head. "You can tell me; let me help, Remus, please!" While saying this, Sirius continued to stroke Remus' hair, clearly trying to comfort his friend, but to Remus the touch was torture, as it woke the wolf even more. Steeling himself, he opened his eyes and looked up at his beautiful friend. "Go, Sirius, just go! It's not safe!"

"Of course it is, I know you'd not hurt me," Sirius replied fondly, using his other hand to touch Remus' face. "Remie, tell me what's wrong?"

                It was the use of the pet name that shattered Remus' self-control. The wolf inside him howled joyfully, and Remus jumped up, his teeth bared, and bore Sirius to the floor. His hands, curled into claws, rent and tore at his friends skin, and Remus disappeared completely as the wolf took over his body and bayed towards the moon and the Dog Star above. 

***********

                "Professor Dumbledore, sir, I've been meaning to ask you this for a few days now, but…" Angela Lupin's question was cut short as Dumbledore rose from his seat and crossed the room to her. Although she was still young, it seemed as if Angela Lupin had aged terribly during this past week; there were more grey hairs on her head than otherwise now, and her eyes were ringed with shadow. Sighing, Dumbledore sat down beside her and offered her a cup of tea. 

"Angela," he said, speaking fondly to his former pupil. I know what you are going to ask me, and I must confess it is troubling me. However, I think your fears are groundless; Remus appears to be approaching the crux of things; all sings indicate that this will be over, for good or evil, within the next 24 hours. So either way, it will be a moot point."

If possible, Angela Lupin paled even more. "You say – the conclusion- is near? Which way will it go?"

"That depends on Remus. There is nothing we can do but watch and wait. However, I feel he will either be able to actively transform in a few days, or…it will bother him no more."

Remus' mother gulped, and took a long swallow from her cup of tea. 

***********

                Sirius rocketed down the corridor as if his life depended on it; nobody hurt his friends and got away with it. The passage led to a smallish, circular room, with no other exits. Standing in the middle of the room was a boy, much larger than even the tall Sirius, and menacing looking. His dark eyebrows almost met across his forehead, giving him a permanent scowl, and sharp eyes glittering like stones glared at Sirius, challenging him. On the floor behind this nasty looking person was Remus, lying where he had fallen, and obviously injured. His brown hair shone golden in the unnatural light of the room, and with his eyes closed, he looked several years younger, and much more innocent that Sirius had ever seen him. 

"Well?" said the boy, the enemy. 

"You leave Remus alone," Sirius said, with just the hint of a quiver in his voice.

"Are you going to make me?" the boy taunted. 

With a growl, Sirius flung himself at Remus's captor with all his tired strength. He pummelled the other boy, hit out with his fists, feet, and even his head, but seemed to make no impression. The boy was like a rock; solid, impermeable and everlasting. Sirius groaned in frustration, but the momentary glances he had of Remus were enough to keep him fighting; his friend looked as though he was in severe pain.      

                With a sudden lapse in Sirius' concentration, the other boy was able to get in a clear punch, and the force of the blow sent Sirius flying. The bigger boy towered above him, as Remus struggled to his feet. "Sirius, stop," Remus said, almost choking on the words. Sirius, sprawled on the floor, shook his head in a decided negative. "No, Remus, I wont."

"Would you just stop? You're not doing any good," Remus reiterated. "You think you are, but your not. I _chose to come here."_

"What're you saying, Re?" Sirius asked, holding his breath. 

"I'm asking you to go away. _I don't want you, Sirius."_

Sirius sucked in a breath, aware that suddenly it hurt to breathe. The boy above him grinned unmercifully, and aimed a sudden kick to his head. Without moving to avoid it, Sirius stared at Remus until he blacked out. 

**********

                Remus Lupin was up and out of bed before anyone had even realised he was out of danger. His legs nearly gave out under him, but he was determined to do what he wanted to do, and eventually made it to Sirius' bed, collapsing beside his still unconscious friend. "Oh Siri," he said brokenly, and buried his head in the pillow next to Sirius. 

                Madam Pomfrey entered the ward soon after with a bowl of hot water for washing Lily, and saw Remus, awake and kneeling next to Sirius' bed. With a little shriek, she dropped what she was carrying and rushed towards him. Scooping Remus into her arms as if he weighed no more than a baby, she put him back into bed, muttering the whole time. "And look at you! Out of bed with you as weak as a flobberworm! Honestly, you'll be making yourself ill again, Remus. And not a thought to tell anyone you're awake! You've been asleep for nearly three weeks, and-,"

"Three weeks?" Remus asked in amazement. 

"Yes, all of you. Except Lily, she's only been here a week. Now shush and back to sleep with you."

"I…I…I…" Remus clearly wanted to ask more questions, but a yawn overtook him, and his eyelids fell shut once more.

***********

                James found himself nearing the edge of the forest now. He came out of the trees to see the splendid vista of Hogwarts Castle up above him, with his quarry already at the main entrance. He set off faster now that there was nothing to distract him, churning up the lawn with his hooves. The double doors were open for him as he got there, and he raced into the darkened great hall. The other animal was leading him through deserted corridors on a route he was sure he knew. The turned into a long passageway, where a light was visible at the other end, and the creature in front sped up, hurtling along towards the light. 

                As James passed through the doorway, he became aware the he was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. This was the room the feeling of evil had been coming from the whole time, and it was so strong in here that he could hardly breathe. Five beds stood in the room, all empty except for one. The animal, his quarry, moved towards this bed, and James followed, knowing that the chase was at an end. He looked at the creature that had caused him so much pain, and saw that it was a doe, a female deer. He didn't have time to wonder at this, because the he could now see the person in the bed, and what he saw made him forget everything else. 

                Lily lay in the bed, her once fiery, but now dulled, hair spread out around her. Her breath came in short shallow gasps and her face was a dull yellowish colour. A sense of dying pervaded the room, and James knew he was too late, and that the evil had conquered his once vibrant friend. As Lily's breaths became even shallower, he noticed that the doe in front of the bed began to fade, and her outline was becoming less and less visible. James, in his animal form, sank to his knees beside the bed, and began to weep. If Lily, his closest and dearest friend, was not going to live, he didn't want to either. 

He bowed his head, and in that moment, gave up. 

**********

                "FOOD!" Sirius yelled, as loud as weakened voice would allow. "I want something to eat!" Several people in the room, including Peter and his parents, jumped in shock, and spun around to see who was making the noise. Peter gave a small squeak, jumped out of his bed, avoided his parents' arms, and catapulted himself at Sirius, hitting him in the chest with the force of a Bludger. "Oh, Siri, I'm so glad your alive!"

"Well I won't be for much longer if I don't get something to eat!" Sirius joked, making Peter smile for the first time in days. 

"I'll get Madam Pomfrey," Peter said grinning. 

He began to move, but was cut short by an annoyed shout. "Pettigrew! Get back to bed! Honestly, what have I told you children? If you want to get better, you have to stay in bed!" Madam Pomfrey had entered the room, but upon seeing Sirius awake, her bad mood faded instantly. "Mr. Black! I thought I heard you!" she beamed.

"I'm hungry, Madam Pomfrey," Sirius complained, looking angelic. 

"Well, Sirius dear, I'm not sure you should eat. Neither Remus nor Peter have, and they've been awake for days."

"But I'm hungry," Sirius whined. "And I really feel like I _need to eat!"_

Madam Pomfrey cast a suspicious look at him, but bustled out of the room anyway, and soon returned with a bowl of soup. 

"Soup!" Sirius said in amazement. "All I get is soup? And where is Remus, anyway?"

"Soup will help you to get better, Mr Black. And Remus is with his parents."

"Oh, right," Sirius said thoughtlessly. "It's the full moon." Madam Pomfrey stared in shock, but soon recovered herself. 

"Eat that, and back to sleep with you," she said severely, but her mind was still dealing with the fact that Remus' friends knew his affliction and still wanted him as a friend. 

                The soup had its desired effect, and Sirius was soon snoozing comfortably in the bed, while his family stood around, embracing each other and crying. It wasn't until late afternoon, therefore, that anything of any interest happened to break the strained silence in the room, which still contained two very ill people.  

                A loud groan sounded from one of the beds in the corner, and the three families in the Hospital Wing looked around in amazement, sure that this could not be another person waking up, not in the same day. But it was quite obvious that James had awoken, as he stretched across the whole bed, and blinked his eyes open sleepily. "Where's Lils?" he said, not quite managing to keep the anxiety out of his voice. None of the parents present felt qualified to answer that question, and James sat staring in silence until Madam Pomfrey came in and closed the curtains around his bed. 

"Where's Lils?" he repeated. The nurse looked at him sadly, unsure how to break the news. 

"She's…still asleep," she said slowly, and went on to explain the curse. 

"The others are awake?" James asked, not quite sure he understood. "But Lily ain't?"

"No, she's not, but she did contract the curse later than you boys. There's still a lot of hope, James."

"Her parents are here, aren't they? And Pete's, and Siri's. Remie's are as well, right?"

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey answered, dreading this line of question even more than the original. 

"But mine aren't?" James asked with confused wrinkle of his nose. "They didn't turn up?"

"No, we merely had an owl asking for regular news of your condition."

"They must be busy, then," James said firmly, as if he was thoroughly convincing himself of this fact, whether or not it was true. Not for the first time Madam Pomfrey wondered at the casualty of the Potters, which she had witnessed many times in her few years at Hogwarts. Their youngest son had been in a critical condition, but neither mother nor father could make time in their busy schedules to come to visit him. 

                Having put the issue of his parents neatly away in the back of his mind, James faced the nurse with bright eyes. "Can I go see Lily now? And Sirius? Please?" 

She took a careful look at him, but he seemed to be in a pretty good condition, considering what he had been through in the past few weeks. "Quickly then," she said gruffly. "And make sure you wrap up warm."

***********

                Lily walked on for hours in the oppressive dark of the forest. The weather continued to worsen, with the path in front of her barely visible. The thunder echoed around created a noise many times louder than she had ever heard. Lightning snapped down nearer and nearer to her, prompting her to fear for her own safety, and that of James. During the lulls in the wind, his crying was still barely audible, on the very edge of her hearing, as she had to strain to catch it. As the storm worsened, her resolve to reach her friend increased. 

                It suddenly seemed to Lily that the trees were getting thinner, and the way more discernible. She sped up, and pushed through the last of the trees, only to be confronted with a vast lake, looking more like an inland sea. It stretched on either side as far as she could see, but on the other side, barely in sight, was James, huddled in a pile on the ground, still crying desperately. 

                Lily heaved a great sigh, and began to advance into the water. It was freezing, as the time of year and storm would suggest, and Lily's whole body quivered in icy pain. She had just steeled herself for another freezing step, when a boat caught her eyes. It was moored to a tiny pier just along from where she was standing, and was even equipped with oars. Hurriedly, she ran along to it, but an unexpectedly huge gust of wind blew, and at the very moment Lily's hand should have closed around the boat, it broke free and bobbed into the middle of the water. 

                Now sobbing herself, Lily collapsed to the ground in frustration. She beat uselessly at the mud with her fists, and took a last look at James. He had stopped crying, and was looking up at her, across the water, as if asking was she coming. Lily shook her head, deciding that she was not going to be able to get to James, whatever happened, and shook her head at him. She then lay down on the ground where she was, and pulled her cloak tight around her thin body. The storm shuddered with unthought fury, and everything went dark. 

**********

                Sirius woke up later that evening to find James awake and eating. He yelped with joy, and bounded out of the bed to hug his friend. "Is Lils awake?" he asked abruptly. 

"Nope," James replied sadly. They shared a miserable look, and sat in silence. 

                The two boys continued to sit for some time. Eventually, Peter's parents left, and Peter himself came over to say he was going to spend the night with his parents, so he could visit Remus in the morning in secret. Finding themselves alone in the Hospital Wing, apart from the constant bustling of Madam Pomfrey, James and Sirius communicated silently, and moved to sit next to Lily's bed. They sat for several hours in silent vigil, getting slowly more depressed as the night went on. Surprisingly, they were alone all evening, for Lily's parents seemed to be taking a night off. 

                Madam Pomfrey told them to go to bed at 11 o'clock. "It's time for you boys to get some rest now, I'll wake you if anything happens," she said sternly. "You need to get some sleep, or you'll never recover."

"I don't want to get better," James replied stubbornly. "Not if Lily doesn't."

"Now, Mr. Potter, that is a silly attitude. Miss Evans will not be helped by your sacrificing your good health for her," the nurse insisted, trying to pull the two boys towards the beds. 

"Ok, ok, we'll go," Sirius snapped, looking significantly at James. James suddenly gave up the fight, and allowed himself to be shepherded into bed. Madam Pomfrey lowered all the lights, and left the room softly. 

                Within seconds of her leaving, the two boys were out of bed and into their original positions by Lily's bed. They dragged their chairs closer together, so James could lean on Sirius' shoulder, and prepared themselves for another long wait. Lily just had to wake up. They could not go on living with one of their group missing. And Lily was such a vital part of them, they both realised. She provided a heady mixture of humour and mischief, as well as care and sympathy for them all. Not to mention, Sirius thought, with what was almost an internal grin, she was an integral part of their Slytherin fighting force. Many of the fights they had had would have been lost without Lily. 

                As Lily tossed and turned in the bed, deep within her own terrifying nightmare, the two boys began to feel the effects of their recent illness. Eyelids began to feel heavy and to close, they leaned even further towards each other, and Sirius' arm snaked out to hold James to him.

                This was how Professor McGonagall found them when she arrived two hours later for her customary late night visit; fast asleep, and each obviously drawing great comfort from the other's presence. However, she knew that sleeping upright, on hard wooden chairs, could not be comfortable, and she quietly levitated them into the nearest bed. Their bodies reformed to the new surface, curling even tighter around each other, though they did not wake up. McGonagall yet again found herself almost moved to tears by the steadfast loyalty that the five third years held for each other, as she knew that if it had not been the full moon, Remus Lupin would have been keeping vigil as well. She settled herself into one of the now vacated chairs, and steeled herself to keep a close eye on Lily all night. 

            Minerva McGonagall stretched languorously in the early hours of the morning, trying to work out why her limbs were so stiff. She blinked her sleep filled eyes and suddenly realised that she was in the Hospital Wing, and she had been there all night. A quick glance towards Lily told her that the girl was now sleeping peacefully, and that the curse was broken. The atmosphere in the room, the very air itself, seemed lighter, as if realising that the evil presence of the curse had gone. She looked towards Sirius and James, and saw that they too were fast asleep, in the positions she had left them in during the night. She stood silently and went in search of Madam Pomfrey, to tell her that her one remaining patient was freed from the curse.

***********

                There were joyous celebrations that day, as all the parents felt able to let out the joy they had been feeling. All five of the patients had recovered, a feat Professor Dumbledore told them was nothing short of amazing, and they all seemed to be in the best of mental health. "What can happen," he said, unable to restrain his grin, "is that when people _do_ recover, they can have lost their memories, or be certain that something has occurred, which has not. However, you five all seem perfectly all right to me. May I be assured that you will be back to your normal rule-breaking selves within a matter of days?"

Professor Dunworthy groaned. The parents shared worried looks, while the five children shared unsuppressed grins.  They wondered if the school had missed them in the weeks they had been away. "We'll have to pull some pranks soon," Lily whispered to James, grinning. 

"Damn right," Sirius whispered back to them, from across the group. 

"Everyone'll have grown complacent without us," Remus added. 

Unfortunately, Dunworthy had heard the entire exchange. "No, there'll be no pranks, I'm afraid. Do you have any idea how much school work you have to catch up on?"

All the grown up's present laughed themselves hoarse at the horrified looks on the faces of the five young Gryffindors. 

A/N: that's it, people, the end of a horribly long chapter. Remember, reviews are always _more_ than appreciated, and thanks to all those who have reviewed, and to everyone that's stuck with me :D


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